Alienated
by jarec
Summary: A single word can mean a lot.


Alienated.

Clark sat in bed on a quiet Saturday morning and thought about that word. Alienated. Alien- ated. It seemed tailor made to him. The Last Son of Krypton. Strange Visitor From Another Planet. Honestly, how much more ALIENATED could you get? Clark Kent, or Superman, or Kal El, whatever name it all boiled down to one thing: Outsider.

Clark Kent was a Kansas farm boy, by upbringing if not by birth. He'd lived in Metropolis for a good many years now (sometimes it seemed like decades) but still, at his core, he was a small town boy in the Big City. He could still remember his first day in town, wandering the huge streets, gazing open mouthed at the sky scrapers, thinking the people here must be able to see the hay in his teeth. And of course values were something very different too. He had stopped to chat with a nice young girl, who'd seemed very attracted to him. He could still remember Lois' expression when she revealed that he'd been approached by a prostitute. He'd blushed for an hour, while she'd teased him for years! To a certain extent, that feeling had never really gone away. He still found himself clinging to Smallville ethics, values and even expressions. This made him stand out among his fellow oh-so-worldly-Metropolites. Like he was still a hick, but now a hick with a city place and a nice suit.

Superman, now, Superman was unique. Sure there were heroes with similar powers, but none quite like him. Moreover, no one else seemed willing to shoulder the load of responsibility that he had to. In any group situation, others invariably turned to him, whether it was for hands-on combat leadership or just inspiration. Superman wasn't allowed to be frightened, or confused, or shocked. It wasn't as though there weren't other candidates. Batman was smarter and more focused than him, Diana was a born leader 9literally) and J'onn was a more rational thinker (when he was off the Oreos). Yet when the crunch came, all eyes turned to the Man in Blue, the World's Oldest Boy Scout. He couldn't really joke around, or go for drinks, or talk about 'god how scary was THAT' with the others, because Superman didn't do that sort of thing. No one even asked him, it was just assumed. Because Superman was perfect. A perfect Outsider.

And Kal El? He snorted. Last Son of Krypton, what more needed to be said? Oh, there were others who'd lost their worlds. Kara, J'onn, others he couldn't even name. But they had at least KNOWN their people first hand, could remember what sort of a species they were. They hadn't been sent to an alien world just after conception, been raised human only to discover that 'Hey, guess what!'. Even now, he could spend a whole day wondering about life on Krypton, about the little things Kryptonian artifacts couldn't tell him. What was his father's favorite dish? What did his people do for fun on a weekend (or whatever)? What was the religion of Krypton, if they even had one?

He'd spent his whole life on Earth, yet a part of him would always think of itself as Kryptonian, and wonder if he wasn't somehow debasing his heritage. That maybe he should dress the way his father had in those holos, at least when he was being Superman (but who knew if that was normal for Krypton? Heck, maybe Jor El was a crossdresser, wearing the equivalent of a little black dress). Maybe at least practice his Kryptonian…

But that was the key point wasn't it? Why should he do any of that when he was the LAST ONE? Who was he preserving Krytonian ways for? The next generation? They'd almost certainly be raised on Earth, and thus raised human. They wouldn't even be real Kryptonians, but half-human. He really was the Last Son of Krypton.

However you put it, he was truly and completely alone. No one could really understand him…

"CLARK! Fly your superbutt out of bed right NOW and get dressed! We have to be ready for lunch with Perry and his wife in ten minutes! And I know you're thinking of ducking out of it with some phony security/crimefighter/Superman thing, and you can just forget about it! . I know you hate these formal lunches, but not everyone thinks cheese sandwiches and soda is good enough for sunday lunch, Smallville. "

He smiled to himself. Well, ALMOST no one….

EnD

A/N I don't much like superman, or at least not the way he's shown. The Perfect Hero. Pure of thought and deed, square jawed, blue eyed, never a single curse… Real beings (whether human or otherwise) don't act that way. Not all the time, anyway. One reason I prefer Marvel, but I digress.

I've always figured that, deep down, Superman has to be the most neurotic creature on the planet. I mean alienation is probably only part of it. We're talking abandonment issues, survivors guilt, identity issues (Clark versus superman, which ones the act?), culture shock (hick versus city, alien versus earth), the tights thing, woman issues… list just goes on and on, really. And none of its ever shown in the comics or shows- I'm told. I don't watch Smallville- kinda lost interest when they CHANGED THE GODDAM MYTHOS.

Anyway, this is sort of a peek at Supermans more 'human' side. Plus, why I think he Really married Lois. At least in the modern era, she seems to be the only one who doesn't view Superman as some sort of ideal or icon. I can easily picture her telling him to fly down to the store to get groceries, and taking zero crap from him about it.

Anyway, just another Flitter from Jarec. Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
